I just don't get it. They already have a monopoly on football. They've got market share in everything else. Wouldn't it just be easier to spend a billion dollars to make their games better? Then they'd have a billion dollars left over to torture orphans.

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Gamertag = IkeVI KNOW DEEP IN MY NMIND THAT THIS DISGUSTING WEBSITE THAT IS OBIVOUSLY OPERATED BY HIGHSCHOOL DROPOUTS LIVING PURPOSELESS AND JOBLESS LIVES

I just don't get it. They already have a monopoly on football. They've got market share in everything else. Wouldn't it just be easier to spend a billion dollars to make their games better? Then they'd have a billion dollars left over to torture orphans.

Why make your games better when you can buy out the competition? It's already proven that the masses will consistently buy EA Sports games, so who cares about quality?

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"All opinions posted are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled."

This is why I think Bioware is naive to think EA will "leave them alone." God help them if one of their games isn't a smash hit. Something modestly successful like Jade Empire would probably bring EA's "Men in Black" to the Bioware offices with a summons... "Your new, original game has failed to meet EA revenue projections. Beep. We require that your next game be: "Mass Effect: Sims Spore 3". Beep. This represents the best opportunity for continued corporate growth. Beep. If you refuse, you shall be terminated. Beep. And development will be transferred to our new studio in Botoswana where labor is much cheaper."

I tend to compare EA to The Borg, but when I think of EA I also tend to hear the Darth Vader music from The Empire Strikes Back...

The big 1 on that list that I regret the most was Origin in Austin. That was the studio that ran the Skunkworks team and turned out all the great flight simulators for the Janes series. They delivered nothing but quality and deserved a better fate. The Bullfrog closure was also a real bummer too; really liked the Populous 3 game they released just before the end.

Another studio that isn't listed but EA had a round about involvement in the closure was Looking Glass studios. IIRC EA bought up one of their IP's -Flight Unlimited 3- and acquired the dev team as the gates were slamming shut. Months later the dev team was let go and we've never seen a sequel to FU3 since.

Yeah Riccitello seems to be doing some different things at EA. I'm not saying they're suddenly completely different than they were, I'm just saying that maybe all the doom & gloom about the potential 2k deal is a bit premature.

Wow, I was a big Terra Nova fan too. Still got the game/box. I even bought about 10 copies of the strategy guide at Micro Center back in the mid '90s because they were selling them for 99 cents (!) to get rid of overstock. Unfortunately, I didn't know 9 fans to give my extra copies to.

I pick on EA, but most publishers understandably simply want profit. Your games sells, they give you another one to work on.

Your game flops. Say hello, pink slip.

They invest millions in your Hot Game, and the sales are OK don't live up to expectations? Then, hold your breath. I think that's where it's getting tougher for any of them to accept the idea of a big budget PC-only game. Too many of those aren't reaching anywhere near their spreadsheet expectations without some multiplatform sales boosting.

Although I haven't covered the games industry, I've been a business reporter about 15 years now. Once they get beyond the small business stage, most corporations just don't care about creativity, or people, or tradition, or history. It's spreadsheets, and earnings, and pleasing the shareholders. In a way, it's sad the whole gaming industry is so wrapped up in that now (aside from independents and smaller players in the market). It means you end up with a lot of big players owning most of the industry who don't really care about the people in the smaller devs they acquire, or their history, or accomplishments.

Which is why I still think Bioware (EA) and Blizzard (Activision) should "watch their back," no matter how much they are rolling in the gravy right now and no matter how much those publisher/owners claim they won't interfere.

Yeah Riccitello seems to be doing some different things at EA. I'm not saying they're suddenly completely different than they were, I'm just saying that maybe all the doom & gloom about the potential 2k deal is a bit premature.

Yea we will have to see if he puts into actions his words of changing how acquisitions are done and leaving the developers alone to do their thing. Maybe its a new age for EA....or maybe not.